Seek Peace

We have a charge to live peaceably, as far as it depends on us.

As I walked into the teachers room in school, I noticed that my usually exuberant colleagues were subdued.

What's going on, I wondered and asked. It seems, because of my limited Hebrew, I miss some nuances in the news, and need to wait to read analyses and summaries in English.

"Haven't you heard? We have a new Minister of Defense," said a mother of a soldier.

Oy. I ran to the Internet and, sure enough, there it was. I read the report.

In a nutshell, here it is.

Egypt had made initiatives toward facilitating peace talks with the Palestinians and Israel. Herzog, the leader of the opposition (Labor party) was ready to join the (Likud) government so that he could be part of maybe, finally, God willing, perhaps moving forward with regard to the stagnated peace process.

Netanyahu felt his position threatened and brought in a very right wing leader to be Minister of Defense, thereby losing a well-respected Minister. The talks with Egypt and the Palestinians evaporated like a dream and the morning dew.

Where does this leave us?

This is my opinion, so please don't write letters to First Fruits of Zion trying to educate me or telling them I am a heretic and deluded. I may very well be, and so might you be (the old seeing through a glass darkly thing), but I think we need to "seek peace and pursue it" and live,"as far as it depends upon us, peaceably." I know I have read that somewhere!?!

Perhaps the peace talks would have failed. Perhaps we would have let ourselves in for (another) great disappointment and perhaps it all would have been to no avail. But a famous coach once said, "You miss 100% of the shots you never take!"

I have two boys in the army (one who will do reserve duty and one who is a medic in a combat unit). To have a repeat of the summer of 2014 is not something I can deal with, if it's all the same to anyone. I nearly had a nervous breakdown during the last war, sleeping with my Bible and my son's picture and holding my breath with his fiancé (at the time) until those fifty horrific days were over, and he came home and got married. Many did not come home; the destruction was grotesque.

Right wing/left wing/chicken wing is not the point. The Palestinians need some hope and we need some quiet and we all, most assuredly DO NOT need another war, God forbid. They are already talking about evacuating some communities in the south, near Gaza.

About the Author: K. J. Kruger is a mother of four and has lived in Israel for over 20 years. As teacher, life coach, writer, and speaker, she has been passionately involved in reconciliation between Arabs and Jews, and sees her role as being part of tikkun olam.
More articles by K. J. Kruger

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